19.0 Metal Cast by Omer Arbel for Bocci

Updated: Jan 22

19.0 is an exploration of sand casting technique which is a low fidelity technique used for making metallic objects. The overspill is usually a by product of this process, which is cleaned up after production and re-finished. Instead, in this project Omer Arbel Designers explored the potential formal possibilities of the overspill in giving the piece a phenomenological/formal identity unique from any other piece produced in the same manner. The technique involves pressing a shape into sand to create a void, and then roughly pouring molten metal into the void.

They chose to use a high copper content brass such that the overspill oxidizes instantly, producing an extremely textured surface that stands in contrast to the interior of the piece, which retains a smooth finish because it does not come in contact with air, and which they hand-polish to a near mirror finish.